Frankenstein Research Paper

People think they know what the monster of Frankenstein truly is. They believe Frankenstein is a huge, bulky green creature with bolts in his neck that are put together in pieces. Unlike most humans, the creature was born out of the love of science and not the love between two people. Victor Frankenstein, the scientist who created this massive creature, brought the creature to life using electricity in his laboratory; Dr. Frankenstein wanted power over death and had little consideration for the humanity of creation. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, although written in 1818, still informs us on how we should proceed in the modern world. In fact, Shelley’s work emphasizes that creation with human connection will only result in tragedy. While

Instead, he focuses on the practical aspects and the materials he needs to conquer death. He says, “Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos; the materials must, in the first place, be afforded: it can give form to dark, shapeless substances, but cannot bring into being the substance itself" (Shelley 34). While Frankenstein seems to realize that he must be careful in creating life, he fails to realize that creation requires love and devotion. Victor’s fear of the creature results from his lack of love. Victor was selfish and inconsiderate of the life of his creature because he never thought about how the monster would feel so lonely and unloved. Victor made Frankenstein because of his ambition to be a prosperous scientist. The creature says, “Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man” (Shelley 141). All the creature knows when it awakens is that it is alone and its appearance is hideous to

The monster searches for love and acceptance, as it realizes a companion is missing in its life. It asks for a companion, one who would share their life with him, since he has been rejected by his creator and society. The creature implores Victor to give him access to the love it was denied at “birth,” and relates to Victor, in short, that love is the answer. He threatens Victor by telling him that he will continue to hurt others if he does not receive love. He relates to Victor, “If I can inspire love, I will cause fear” (Shelley 173). Clearly, Shelley shows here that tragedy can be the only result if love is not present. But, one may ask why Shelley’s connection to love and creation is relevant to us in the modern world. One only has to look at contemporary bioethics and gene editing science. We question the bioethics of genetic editing because of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Without Frankenstein’s creation, there would be no curiosity, experimentation, or arguments for gene editing. Frankenstein has at least taught most people to think about whether these gene editing techniques are ethically